The Possession

The Possession by Annie Ernaux is one of her most psychologically intense short works — an account of the jealousy she experienced when her ex-partner began a new relationship, and the disturbing way that jealousy reorganised her perception of reality. Ernaux examines jealousy with the same unflinching sociological eye she brings to desire, class, and memory: this is not a self-pitying account but a precise examination of an extreme mental state, asking what it reveals about the self and about the possessive structures of heterosexual love. Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in a compressed, concentrated form characteristic of her late work, The Possession is essential for readers following Ernaux’s sustained autobiographical project and a vivid demonstration of her analytical gifts.